George Mitchell, once thought to be a lock to be baseball's next commissioner, wasn't quite as popular when it was announced he would lead an inquiry into steroid use in baseball.

He appeard to have rallied.

"As someone who originally said he wasn't the right man for the job, I can say this for Senator Mitchell — he did a great job for not having subpoena power," Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.), a Hall of Fame pitcher, said in a statement on Thursday. "I want to congratulate Senator Mitchell on a job well done."

Long before Mitchell, 74, became senate majority leader from his native state of Maine, he was a Boston Red Sox fan. That love for the Sox coupled with his friendship with team's majority owner John Henry led him to become a director, although not an owner, of the team.

The other potential conflict of interest, his connection with The Walt Disney Co., is no longer an issue, though it was at the time he was appointed; Mitchell resigned as chairman of Disney — which owns ESPN, a Major League Baseball broadcast partner — last January.

"When I went to Northern Ireland, there were some who claimed I had a conflict because I'm an American, I'm Catholic and my father's parents emigrated from the Republic of Ireland to the United States," Mitchell said Thursday. "I didn't quit and I stayed with it and eventually we got a peace agreement. My request now is as it was in Northern Ireland: judge me by my work."

After he helped broker the Good Friday accord in 1998, he was tapped to chair an investigation into Salt Lake City's bid for the 2002 Winter Games. His 53-page report said a "culture of improper gift-giving" existed among officials in Salt Lake and other cities attempting to secure the Olympics.

"He doesn't jump to conclusions," said Robert Shrum, a professor at New York University and former democratic strategist. "He hears everybody you and is very, very thourough."

But that investigation along with his days as federal prossecutor and judge may not have fully prepared Mitchell for his latest assignment: Examine steroid use in baseball.

"I don't think he had the backing of the commissioner like I did," said John Dowd, whose investigation into Pete Rose's betting as Cincinnati Reds manager led to the hall of famer's banishment from the game. "I had a commissioner (the late A. Bartlett Giamatti) who had full power. I also didn't have to fight the player's union."

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